National Theater Live starts free streaming April 2

National Theatre Live, which records and broadcasts stage shows from London’s West End to movie theaters worldwide, is unveiling a new at-home initiative amid the closure of theaters due to the novel coronavirus.

Beginning April 2, audiences can watch a number of NT Live’s live-captured productions for free via the National Theatre’s YouTube channel.

Every Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, a production — filmed in front of an audience in the theater — will be streamed and then be available on-demand for seven days.

The “National Theatre at Home” lineup kicks off with Richard Bean’s comedic play “One Man, Two Guvnors,” featuring James Corden’s Tony Award-winning performance as “an insatiable Humpty Dumpty who has hired himself out to two masters he’s determined to keep apart while doubling his wages and calories,” wrote Times critic Charles McNulty in 2012.

That production will be followed by Sally Cookson’s 2017 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” (April 9), Bryony Lavery’s 2014 take on Robert Louis

Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” (April 16) and Shakespeare’s classic comedy “Twelfth Night” (April 23).

Further titles, plus accompanying content like chats with casts and creative teams, will be announced at a later date.

“Our ambition at the National Theatre is to create work which is challenging, entertaining and inspiring, and we’re committed to continuing that through these difficult times,” said executive director and joint chief executive Lisa Burger in a statement.